Capt. Brad Durick outlines the best places and methods to catch catfish at this time of year.

Every fish has some sort of seasonal movement. Of course, many variables can play into when these movements happen, and to what extent average anglers will even notice them.

Many catfish anglers fish the same few spots, the same way, regardless of time of year and conditions. These anglers are the ones who tell you they either caught lots of fish—or the fish just are not biting. If you understand the basic migrations and movements of catfish throughout the whole year, and are able to adjust and adapt to these movements, you will be a much more consistent and successful catfish angler.

For this article, I’ll just concentrate on the movements of catfish during the last third of the year. If you want to know more about catfish migration through the spring and summer months, they are detailed in my book Cracking the Channel Catfish Code.

Summer and early fall

The summer pattern is when the catfish spread out and take up residence for the most part. They do migrate around some, but for the most part, fish movement is minimal. The best areas are bends in a river that have deep water, snags, shallow fast water and shallow dead water, all in a fairly small area. If you refer back to the lateral movement article of the past months, this is where it comes into play. Depending on conditions, the catfish will move around in all of the forementioned areas of the river.

One thing to keep in mind during the summer pattern: Because the fish are not migrating as much, areas can be fished out, so make sure to rest your spots. The rule of thumb is a three-day minimum, but four or five days is even better. Rotating spots depends a lot on how much traffic your fishing areas receive in an average week. Sometimes, rotating is simply not an option, as good areas just get fished over and over.

Fall

This is when the water temperatures start to cool into the mid-60s and are falling. River fish get the hint that fall is around the corner, and make a final upstream push for the last gorge before winter. This is a time when catfishing can be as good or better than during pre-spawn. The catfish are on the feed, and packing on the pounds. Some years, it can be your best shot at the heaviest fish. If the weather is somewhat stable, fishing during this time will pay big dividends.

Winter

Once the water reaches 40 degrees, and on down to ice where ice exists, the fish will bunch up in wintering holes, where they will not move much until spring warms things up again. They usually choose the biggest and deepest holes available. The catfish will lie there until they feel the need to eat. When they feed, they will feed—but they will not feed as readily as they do during the warmer times of year. The reason anglers catch these fish at all is that there are many fish present, and someone, sometime has to eat while they are piled in there. On smaller rivers, these fish are spread out and more difficult to catch, versus on reservoirs or larger rivers.

Contrary to what many people seem to think, catfish exhibit a lot of migration during the year. The seasonal movements are predictable, and can be more or less pronounced, depending on water levels and conditions. Every season is dictated by water temperature, and can be longer or shorter, depending on how the weather plays into the year.

Want some more great fall fishing information? Check out the November issue of MidWest Outdoors, available the first full week of November at the newsstand or by subscribing on our website.